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Stable Fuel Confinement in Stratified Charge GDI Engines

Conference Paper · January 2004

DOI: 10.1115/ICEF2004-0919

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ASME International Engine Division, 2004 Fall Technical Conference
STABLE FUEL CONFINEMENT IN STRATIFIED CHARGE GDI ENGINES
S. Zanforlin
Dipartimento di Energetica – Univ. of Pisa
ABSTRACT
Direct fuel injection combined with charge stratification
represents a must for two-stroke S.I. engines, since it prevents
fuel loss from the exhaust port and incomplete combustion or
misfire at light loads.
The most difficult aims are keeping stable stratification
when engine operating conditions change and, at very light
loads, avoiding excessive dilution and spreading of fuel vapour
in consequence of burned gas expansion.
Two new-concept engine designs are proposed in this
paper. In both cases shapes of piston and head, together with
scavenging-duct orientation have been optimised to obtain
stable in-cylinder flow field features (independently of engine
speed) and proper fuel distribution at ignition time.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) predictions at different
loads and speeds are reported and discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Direct fuel injection combined with charge stratification
represents a must for two-stroke S.I. engines, since it prevents
fuel loss from the exhaust port and incomplete combustion or
misfire at light loads.
The most difficult aims are keeping stable stratification
when engine operating conditions change and, at very light
loads, avoiding excessive dilution and spreading of fuel vapour
in consequence of burned gas expansion.
Two new-concept engine designs are proposed in this
paper. In both cases shapes of piston and head, together with
scavenging-duct orientation have been optimised to obtain
stable in-cylinder flow field features (independently of engine
speed) and proper fuel distribution at ignition time.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) predictions at different
loads and speeds are reported and discussed.
Proceedings of ICEF04:
Long Beach, CA, USA, October 24-27, 2004
ICEF2004-919
R. Gentili
Dipartimento di Energetica – Univ. of Pisa
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
A single-cylinder 250 cm3 engine for motorcycles has
been studied. Its basic design is conventional, however
combustion chamber and transfer ducts have been properly
modified according to innovative concepts. Engine
characteristics are summarised in Table 1.
Preliminary CFD studies gave important suggestions:
• counter-current injection supports fuel spreading,
enhancing air fuel mixing; this is beneficial also at light
loads, since local very high fuel concentrations must
always be avoided;
• combustion chamber symmetry is necessary to obtain
symmetrical in-cylinder flow field features. Thus, they can
be kept very similar at every engine speed, sustaining
stratification stability;
• the survival of a well defined tumble motion at injection
time induces droplets and vapour rising up from the
bottom to the top of the combustion chamber. At heavy
loads it improves charge homogeneity and at light loads
allows predicting and controlling fuel path, which follows
the tumble streamlines faithfully. If the flow field is stable
(i.e., its features are similar at every engine speed), always
the fuel cloud can be led to the spark plug (of course,
injection timing needs to be experimentally set for each
engine speed, according to the different flow field
values!). To keep the tumble alive even when the piston is
approaching TDC, the combustion chamber must be
properly shaped to accommodate the tumble vortex. A
suitable geometry has been found, with combustion
chamber composed of a piston bowl and a head dome,
both characterised by rounded profiles (close to sphere or
ellipsoid segments).
• Proper geometry of side scavenging-ducts gives tumble
stability. In conventional scavenging arrangements, the
elevation angle is large only for the central duct and is very
small for side ducts. In previous papers [11] the authors
1 Copyright © #### by ASME
 proved that increasing the elevation angle of a couple of
side ducts, tumble axis and position become almost
insensitive to variations of engine speed (i.e. to variation of
pressure goings inside crankcase and exhaust duct). Of
course, transfer ports need to be properly enlarged to
compensate actual flow area restriction due to the
increased elevation angle. Present study proves that
increasing to 33° the elevation angle of the two transfer
ducts on the exhaust side is enough to attain satisfactory
tumble stability. This solution also allows keeping the fuel
cloud close to engine symmetry plane, whereas, with
conventional duct design, velocities above the piston bring
fuel vapour towards chamber periphery.
• Squish effect, despite its strong effect especially at high
engine speeds, has not to push fuel away from the spark-
plug region, spreading mixture throughout the chamber
when the piston is approaching DTC. Small changes in
engine-head and piston shapes are able to radically modify
the in-cylinder flow field evolution [11 - 13]. A lip
delimiting the piston bowl and a smoothed edge between
the dome basis and the low surface of the head properly
address squish velocities, enhancing tumble stability and
fuel confinement around the spark plug at ignition time.
KIVA3v structured grid, piston shape, in-cylinder flow
field and spray orientation are depicted in Figs. 1 - 4 for the
simplest geometry that satisfies the mentioned requirements.
This engine is characterised by a wholly opened combustion
chamber. However, due to poor geometrical fuel confinement,
this chamber leads to flame extinction at very light loads, since
burnt gas expansion causes fuel vapour spreading with
generation of too lean regions.
To solve this problem, a new combustion chamber
geometry has been conceived, which consists of two semi-
chambers, communicating and symmetrically shaped with
respect to cylinder symmetry plane. At light loads, the fuel is
sprayed only into the first semi-chamber, where combustion
occurs; the second is invested from the spray and is involved in
combustion only at heavier loads, when larger fuel amounts
make it necessary. Computation grid and piston shape are
shown in Figs. 10 and 11.
Table 1. Engine characteristics
Displacement 250.0 cm3
Bore x Stroke 72.5 mm x 60.5 mm
Transfer ports 1 central, 4 side ports
Combustion chamber volume 23.70 cm3
Geometric compression ratio 11.50
Lateral scavenging ports timing Open 53° BBDC
Close 53° ABDC
Central scavenging port timing Opens 53° BBDC
Closes 53° ABDC
Exhaust port timing Opens 78° BBDC
Closes 78° ABDC
Injection pressure 100 bar
MODELS AND CONDITIONS FOR CFD PREDICTIONS
The structured computational meshes have been obtained
using CATIA-Engage (by IBM). The CFD study is based on
KIVA3v (rel. 2, 1999) code with RNG k-epsilon model.
Spray droplet aerodynamic breakup is calculated by Taylor
Analogy Breakup model, which is based upon the analogy
between a droplet with oscillating distortions and a spring-mass
system. Thus, oscillation amplitude and frequency depend on
drop equivalent stiffness and damping and on the aerodynamic
interaction with the surrounding atmosphere. The model is
modified to take into account the primary breakup zone.
The numerical Wall Film model is based on particle
discretion. Film interactions with impinging spray, gas flow
and walls are included. At the wall interface, heat transfer and
no-slip boundary condition are assumed, while heat and mass
transfer and tangential stress are considered for the gas
boundary layer above the film. The model incorporates
spray/wall interaction effects, including droplet splash, film
spreading due to impingement and motion due to film inertia.
Combustion chemistry, on which fuel consumption rate
depends, is based on KIVA3v kinetic-controlled fuel-oxidation
model, yet a scaling factor is introduced to take into account
turbulence mean level, tied to engine speed. This model should
be adjusted on the basis of experimental data to obtain realistic
previsions. However, even without adjustments, the model can
be used for comparative purposes among different geometries.
Flows inside exhaust and transfer ducts are solved.
Computation domains are shown in Figs. 1 and 11.
However, for simplicity, pressure boundary conditions are
assumed atmospheric for exhaust duct and variable, according
to simplified suitable laws, for the transfer ducts. These
assumptions affect scavenging process flow-dynamics,
however their influence on in-cylinder flow-field evolution is
not such as to qualitatively modify the mixture-formation
process. Besides, the independence of stratification from
pressure goings in scavenging and exhaust ducts is a necessary
condition to keep stratification when engine operating-
conditions vary.
Calculations start at 95° ATDC, i.e. before the exhaust
port opens, assuming homogeneous physical and chemical
conditions inside the cylinder.
A hollow-cone spray with initial wideness of 42° has been
assumed for very late injection, when cylinder pressure is about
4 bar (2000 rpm); spray wideness has been increased to 48°
when cylinder pressure is about 3 bar (3000 rpm) and to 57°
when cylinder pressure is about 2 bar (6000 rpm). For early
injection (that occurs when exhaust port is still open) 65° spray
wideness has been assumed. In all the simulations, 12° spray
cone thickness and 100 m/s droplet initial velocity have been
adopted. Injection and spark timings have been chosen for each
chamber geometry in order to achieve the pressure peak at
about 6° ATDC.
Charge formation process has been studied for the
operating conditions reported in Table
2 Copyright © #### by ASME
Table 2. Operating conditions
Speed Overall equivalence ratio Injection timing Ignition timing
0.33, “light load” 78° BTDC first geometry 24° BTDC
6000 rpm second geometry 20° BTDC
0.60, “medium load” split injection(*) 20° BTDC
1.0, “full load” 135° BTDC 20° BTDC
3000 rpm 0.33, “light load” first geometry 55° BTDC 18° BTDC
second geometry 60° BTDC
2000 rpm 0.25, “idle” first geometry 48° BTDC first geometry 20° BTDC
second geometry 50° BTDC second geometry 18° BTDC
(*) 66% of fuel is injected at 135° BTDC, the remaining 33% is injected later, at 75° BTDC

CFD OUTPUTS
Figures 5 - 7 show local equivalence ratios and velocity
vectors predicted at ignition time and 6000 rpm for the first
combustion chamber geometry. At light load fuel vapour is
stratified just below the spark-plug tips, which are placed on
the engine symmetry plane, not far from dome wall (see Fig.
5). This tip location implies some degree of their wetting by
fuel droplets in the case of early injection (when spray cone is
larger). Moreover, at ignition time, the fuel cloud is too
expanded and diluted; proper stratification characteristics and
flame propagation can be achieved only with a very narrow
spray cone angle (42°) that is unrealistic with the actual
cylinder pressure (compare Figs. 10 and 11, obtained using
cone angle of 57° and 42°, respectively).
At medium load, injection advance has to be increased,
nevertheless the fuel is kept inside the lip-delimited bowl,
since, even for very early injection (see full-load case), tumble
streamlines do not allow fuel penetration into the squish region.
Injection timing must satisfy the requirement of stoichiometric
or slightly rich mixture in the ignition region and almost
homogeneous lean charge in the rest of the chamber. Yet, the
most suitable solution to reach this result is split injection: Fig.
6 depicts equivalence ratios calculated injecting most of the
fuel early and the remainder late, with injection timings of 135°
and 75° BTDC, respectively.
At full load fuel distribution is fair, despite a somewhat too
rich mixture in the ignition region, as shown in Fig. 7.
The results obtained at 3000 and 2000 rpm (light load and
idle, respectively) show suitable fuel distribution around the
spark-plug tips at ignition time, proving stable stratification
independently of engine speed (Figs. 8 and 9). Yet, in the case
of 3000 rpm, a hardly possible reduction of spray cone angle
(42° instead of 48°, see Fig. 12) could lead to better results.
As mentioned above and as Figs. 10 - 13 prove, since this
geometry leads to fuel spreading by burnt gas expansion with
combustion quenching at very light loads, a new combustion
chamber, composed of two semi-chambers, has been
conceived. A careful study has been necessary to properly
define its design, together with injection position, direction and
timing in order to keep the second semi-chamber without fuel
at light loads. Moreover, to prevent fuel flow to the second
semi-chamber during combustion, the spark plug is placed
between the two semi-chambers. Therefore, at light loads the
flame front starts from the margin of the fuel cloud and
constitutes an element of separation between the two semi-
chambers. A further advantage, although less important, of this
design is that the spray does not wet the plug tips, even when
spray cone is very large. Figs. 16 and 17 respectively show
flow field characteristics and spray location and direction,
while Figs. 18, 21 and 22 prove that correct stratification at
ignition time occurs at every engine speed.
The new combustion chamber, unlike the previous one,
requires that injection begins later than 80° BTDC at light load
and high engine speed, to avoid that droplet trajectory involves
the second semi-chamber. This constrain is responsible for
mixture richness on the bottom of the first semi-chamber (see
Fig. 18). Of course, at lower engine speeds (Figs. 21 and 22)
further time is available for fuel distribution, thus better results
can be achieved even adopting smaller injection advances. For
early injection (full load), spray orientation allows equal fuel
partition between the semi-chambers, with better local
equivalence ratios and mixture homogeneity than in the case of
the previous geometry, as shown in Fig. 19. At medium loads,
see Fig. 20, split injection is necessary to enrich the mixture in
the ignition region of the first semi-chamber.
Figures 23 - 25 show chamber behaviour after ignition, at
light load and idle. Remarkable improvement in combustion
fulfilment occurs for idle condition in respect of previous
geometry; a slight quenching, due to insufficient mixing inside
the first semi-chamber, occurs at high engine speed. For all the
simulations, unburned fuel amounts are reported in Tab. 3. Of
course, due to combustion model inaccuracy, these data cannot
be considered true (they are unrealistically high), however they
can be used to compare the two chambers.
Table 3. Unburned fuel for light load and idle at 60° ATDC
First geometry Second geometry
13.5 %
6000 rpm 13.1 %
(8.1 % with narrow spray)
3000 rpm 13.1 % 12.1 %
(9.4 % with narrow spray)
2000 rpm 16.3 % 7.7 %
With both combustion chamber geometries, spark-plug
tips are placed centrally on the engine symmetry plane, close to

3 Copyright © #### by ASME

head wall, thus special plugs with long tips are not necessary
and flame path is short.

(front view, parallel to cylinder symmetry plane)

Figure 4. Spray location and direction.

(engine symmetry plane)

Spark location

Figure 1. KIVA3v grid of the first geometry.

(section 9 mm above cylinder top edge)

Figure 2. Piston top details of the first geometry. Figure 5. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 6000 rpm and light load.

(engine symmetry plane)

(section 9 mm above cylinder top edge)

Figure 3. Flow field on engine symmetry plane calculated Figure 6. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 6000 rpm at 80° BTDC (top) and at 40° BTDC (bottom). for 6000 rpm and medium load (split injection).

4 Copyright © #### by ASME

 (engine symmetry plane)
(engine symmetry plane)

(section 9 mm above cylinder top edge)

(section 9 mm above cylinder top edge)
Figure 9. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 2000 rpm and minimum load.

temperature at 10° BTDC

(section 1 mm above cylinder top edge)
Figure 7. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 6000 rpm and full load.

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC

(engine symmetry plane)

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC

(section 9 mm above cylinder top edge) Figure 10. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for
6000 rpm and light load.
Figure 8. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 3000 rpm and light load.

5 Copyright © #### by ASME

 fuel concentration at 20° ATDC fuel concentration at 20° ATDC (spray cone 42°)
Figure 12. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for
3000 rpm and light load (see effects of spray cone angle).

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC

Figure 11. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for
6000 rpm and light load if a narrow spray cone angle is
adopted (42° instead of 57°).
fuel concentration at 20° ATDC

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC (spray cone 48°)

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC
Figure 13. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for idle
conditions (2000 rpm, 25% overall equivalence ratio).

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC (spray cone 48°)

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC (spray cone 42°)

(continue to next column) Figure 14. KIVA3v grid of the second geometry.

6 Copyright © #### by ASME

 (right view, normal to engine symmetry plane)
Figure 17. Spray location and direction.
Figure 15. Piston top details of the second geometry.

(section 4 mm far from engine symmetry plane)

Spark location

Figure 16. Flow field calculated for 6000 rpm at 80° BTDC
(top) and 40° BTDC (bottom), section 10 mm far from engine
symmetry plane. (section 10 mm above cylinder top edge)
Figure 18. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 6000 rpm and light load.

(section 10 mm far from engine symmetry plane)

(top view , normal to cylinder axis)

continue to next column

(section 10 mm above cylinder top edge)

continues to next column

7 Copyright © #### by ASME

 (section 10 mm above cylinder top edge)
Figure 21. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 3000 rpm and light load.

(section 1 mm above cylinder top edge)

Figure 19. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 6000 rpm and full load.

(section 4 mm far from engine symmetry plane)

(section 4 mm far from engine symmetry plane)

(section 10 mm above cylinder top edge)

Figure 22. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
(section 10 mm above cylinder top edge) for 2000 rpm and idle load.
Figure 20. Equivalence ratio maps calculated at ignition time
for 6000 rpm and medium load (split injection).

temperature at 10° BTDC

continues to next column
(section 4 mm far from engine symmetry plane)
continues to next column

8 Copyright © #### by ASME

 fuel concentration at 20° ATDC fuel concentration at 20° ATDC
Figure 25. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for idle
conditions (2000 rpm, 25% overall equivalence ratio).

REMARKS AND CONCLUSIONS

Two innovative designs have been studied for a single-

cylinder 250 cm3 two-stroke GDI engine for motorcycles. In
both cases, CFD prediction leads to the following outcomes:
fuel concentration at 20° ATDC - counter-current spray orientation improves air-fuel
mixing, enhancing mixture homogeneity, and avoids fuel
Figure 23. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for loss from the exhaust port in the case of early injection;
6000 rpm and light load. - increasing the elevation angle of a couple of side ducts,
tumble velocities rise up and collect fuel vapour, allowing
proper fuel distribution; of course, also plug tips can be
placed upward, thus avoiding their wetting (only in the
case of wholly opened chamber a slight wetting is
expected for early injection);
- to keep tumble vortex even when the piston is
approaching TDC, combustion chamber should be
composed of a piston bowl and a head dome, both round-
shaped (close to sphere or ellipsoid segments) in order to
fuel concentration at 20° ATDC accommodate the vortex;
- piston bowl or bowls must be half-bordered (on the
transfer port side) by a lip that deviates squish velocity
towards the dome, enhancing stratification stability;
- at medium loads split injection should, or, according to
engine design, must be adopted: most of the fuel is
injected early to fill the cylinder with lean homogeneous
mixture and the remainder is injected late, to enrich the
mixture in the ignition region.
fuel concentration at 20° ATDC The difference between the two engine designs consists in
the combustion chamber, which is wholly opened in the first
Figure 24. Behaviour of the engine during combustion for
design and is composed of two communicating symmetrical
3000 rpm and light load.
semi-chambers in the second, conceived for reducing flame
extinction risk at light loads.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This activity is part of a research program about small

two-stroke engines with low pollutant emission. The program
was managed by Dell’Orto S.p.A., Seregno (Italy) with
financial support of MIUR (Italian Government).

fuel concentration at 20° ATDC

continues to next column

9 Copyright © #### by ASME

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